Succession Season 4 Episode 4 Review: Who Will Inherit Logan Roy’s Throne?
Cast: Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Macfadyen, Nicholas Braun
Creator: Jesse Armstrong
Streaming Platform: HBO Max
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and a half stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Have you recovered from the emotional shock of the third episode of the very last season of Succession? As we already anticipated in our review last week, it was not easy, even for the most ardent fans of the HBO show created by Jesse Armstrong, to process the sudden departure of the tyrannical but fascinating Logan Roy (Brian Cox), true and own pater families and narrative and emotional pivot of the entire ongoing television series. In our review of Succession Season 4 Episode 4 we will analyze how the showrunner and screenwriter Armstrong managed to weave the strings of the complex narrative microcosm and character system in the absence of the leader who pulled and protected everything and everyone, a vacant throne that will remain empty for little in a fourth episode with a Shakespearean flavor. It must be difficult, for the viewer as well as for the writers, to approach this episode after the shocking previous one. Jesse Armstrong & Lucy Prebble certainly place a less impactful one but with wise use of the concept of predictability.
Succession Season 4 Episode 4 Review: The Story Plot
It’s not easy to process your father’s death. Especially if your parent is American multi-millionaire and communications tycoon Logan Roy, who suddenly passed away from a cardiovascular episode in the shocking previous episode directed by Mark Mylod, “Connor’s Wedding”. A marriage, the one mentioned in the title, which had unexpectedly turned into a moment of profound transformation for Logan’s children, is a real point of no return for the protagonists of Succession.
In this fourth episode of the final season, entitled “Honeymoon States”, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) find themselves together with their older brother Connor, other relatives, the infinite hierarchies of colleagues and lackey of the deceased Logan in the patriarch’s own house, dressed in mourning, waiting to figure out how to organize the funeral and communicate to the administrative board of Waystar Royco who will assume the interim role of a chief operating officer of the great multimedia empire. Kendall, Shiv, and Roman try to remain united despite their ambitions and differences of thought, but a note from Logan on an old sheet of paper once again questions the Succession.
Succession Season 4 Episode 4 Review and Analysis
“Honeymoon States” is the fourth episode of the final season of Succession, and this time (on the outline of a four-handed script entrusted to Jesse Armstrong and Lucy Prebble), the direction passes from the very solid and veteran Mylod to the equally talented Lorene Scafaria (at the cinema, we appreciated her behind the camera of the comedy The Meddler with Susan Sarandon and the discussed The girls of Wall Street with Jennifer Lopez); the latter brings into play all the multifaceted psychological complexity of the protagonists of the series to set up an episode that is only apparently passing but essential to pave the way for the grand finale.
The gathering of all of Logan’s family, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and close collaborators in his house becomes an almost theatrical stage to show his audience of viewers the consequences of a sudden mourning and the ruthlessness of a world of vultures (the business one) that doesn’t even look death in the face to respond to the pressing needs of the market. And it is therefore in this way that the three contending brothers “for the throne” will be forced to make peace with the different points of view and their respective differences to give a clear and authoritative answer to the board of directors: which of the three of them will assume the coveted role of a chief operating officer of Waystar Royco. waiting for official resolutions?
The answer to this question will certainly not be simple, because a document written in his hand by the late Logan will question the entire range of strategies for the rise to power of the Roys: on balance, however, it will be the fragile and complex Shiv played by Sarah Snook, here grappling with a female character who, having reached the semi-conclusion of her dramaturgical journey, still manages to pull twists and revelations of burning narrative urgency and depth out of her unpredictable deck of cards.
Therefore, the fourth episode directed by Lorene Scafaria, while maintaining the title of the necessarily interlocutory chapter of “day after” with dignity, actually performs an arduous and very difficult task: that of confirming the loyalty of its vast audience even after the departure of one of the most loved/hated and important characters. It could have been an inauspicious case of “jumping the shark” for Succession, but Jesse Armstrong’s ruthless TV show, six episodes from its unpredictable end, continues to offer great moments of television writing, directing, and acting.
In the episode, there were no insights into what Roman is feeling (definitely in denial, as the brothers say) but with a very pragmatic and, in his way, human attitude, rising to prominence as co-CEO of the company, keeping us to defend the memory of his father, even though he was the one who was physically abused. Tom and Greg’s clumsy and pathetic attempts to carve out a place for themselves in the Succession certainly give hilarious moments and how much the sense of reality escapes many of the characters, used by Logan, at the right time, making them perhaps the most naive ones like the defenestrated Kerry, in one of the most “heartbreaking” scenes of the episode, unlike a big march for opportunism. One last point worth highlighting: Kendall’s final choice opens up an interesting scenario not only for the plot of the season but above all for the way it is elaborated, making it clear how much Kendall is worthy (perhaps?) of being nominated by the father. That smile, the result of a manipulation worthy of the best Logan, makes everything more disturbing, adding to the various personal and family dysfunctions that portend nothing but a devastating end for all of them.
Succession Season 4 Episode 4 Review: The Last Words
Succession Season 4 Episode 4, the final season of Succession must necessarily deal with the aftermath of the shocking disappearance of one of its absolute protagonists; a narrative and dramaturgical mourning entrusted to the sensitive direction of Lorene Scafaria and an intense performance by Shiv played by Sarah Snook. Succession is that series that never pulls the oars even if it seems that nothing has happened. Few series manage not to be pleased with the results achieved but rather raise the stakes, leading their protagonists towards the abyss.
